Information Officers

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much (a) the Gambling Commission and (b) the National Lottery Commission spent on press and communications officers in each of the last five years. [225501]

Barbara Follett:
The information requested has been provided by the following organisations, and totals are inclusive of NIC and pensions:

The Gambling Commission( 1)

£

October 2005 to March 2006

43,600

2006-07

176,400

2007-08

225,400

(1) The Gambling Commission was established in October 2005 so figures have been provided as appropriate.

The National Lottery Commission

£

2003-04

100,900

2004-05

111,400

2005-06

116,600

2006-07

129,400

2007-08

124,900

Note:

For consistency, figures are rounded up to the nearest £100

Licensing Act 2003

Mr. Ellwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to review the operation of the Licensing Act 2003; and if he will make a statement. [232214]

Barbara Follett [holding answer 3 November 2008]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mass Media

Mrs. Dorries:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what discussions his Department has had with the BBC Trust on its public value inquiry test of proposals by the BBC to establish local news websites and a local news video network; and if he will make a statement; [235879]

(2) what assessment his Department has made of the (a) competitiveness and (b) diversity of the local and regional media industry; and if he will make a statement; [235880]

26 Nov 2008 : Column 2191W

(3) what assessment his Department has made of trends in the future expansion of the local and regional media industry; and if he will make a statement; [235881]

(4) what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the BBC Charter of BBC proposals to establish local news websites and a local news video network; and if he will make a statement; [235933]

(5) what steps his Department is taking to help develop local and regional media industries; and if he will make a statement; [235934]

(6) what steps his Department is taking to assist local and regional media industries; and if he will make a statement. [235935]

Andy Burnham:
No assessments of the local and regional media industry have been undertaken.

The Department has regular meetings with the BBC Trust, at which a range of issues are covered.

Under the terms of the BBCs Charter and Agreement, public value tests are a matter for the BBC Trust and there is no provision for Government to intervene. On 21 November, the BBC Trust announced its provisional conclusion that the local video proposal should be rejected. The Trust is due to make its final decision by 25 February.

The growth of local media industries is an important issue that we will consider within the Digital Britain Report, which will be published spring next year. This report is part of the Governments aim to develop a coherent strategy for a fully digital Britain. It will address a number of areas related to this issue including the future of public service content and the future of news provision.

The report will also address around Nations, regions and local provision, and consider the actions necessary to support the growth of the digital and communications industries.

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish the Convergence Think Tank's interim report on the future policy and legislative framework for the communications industries; and if he will make a statement. [238019]

Andy Burnham:
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Museums and Galleries: Finance

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has allocated to each of its sponsored museums and galleries for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11. [225524]

Barbara Follett [holding answer 9 October 2008]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 14 October 2008, Official Report, column 1197W.

Museums and Galleries: Information Officers

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much (a) the Royal Armouries 26 Nov 2008 : Column 2192W
Museum, (b) Sir John Soanes Museum, (c) Chatham Historic Dockyard and (d) the Wallace Collection spent on employing press and communications officers in each of the last five years. [226250]

Barbara Follett:
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) the National Gallery, (b) the Tate, (c) the Science Museum, (d) the Science Museum Manchester and (e) the Museum of London on employing press and communications officers in each of the last five years. [227207]

Barbara Follett:
The information requested has been provided by the following organisations and is inclusive of NIC and pensions:

The National Gallery

Amount (£)

2003-04

99,400

2004-05

122,000

2005-06

131,600

2006-07

138,200

2007-08

133,100

The Tate

Amount (£)

2003-04

191,900

2004-05

199,800

2005-06

268,500

2006-07

279,500

2007-08

289,200

Note: These figures do not include consultancy costs.

The Science Museum

Amount (£)

2003-04

123,500

2004-05

187,600

2005-06

211,800

2006-07

227,400

2007-08

182,800

The Museum of Science and IndustryManchester

Amount (£)

2003-04

25,200

2004-05

26,100

2005-06

27,000

2006-07

25,600

2007-08

26,100

Note: Please note that, for consistency, figures are rounded up to the nearest £100.

The Museum of London

The Museum of London is not an NDPB sponsored by DCMS and we do not have figures for this organisation.

Museums Libraries and Archives Council: Research

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council employs to carry out research. [239585]

26 Nov 2008 : Column 2193W

Barbara Follett:
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council have confirmed that they employ four members of staff to carry out research.

National Lottery

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he expects to publish the accounts for 2007-08 of (a) the National Lottery Distribution Fund and (b) the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund. [239381]

Andy Burnham:
I expect to publish both these accounts by the end of the year.

National Lottery Commission: Recruitment

Mr. Hunt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by the National Lottery Commission on advertising for recruitment in each of the last five years. [225469]

Mr. Sutcliffe:
The information requested has been provided by the National Lottery Commission. Their spend on advertising for recruitment in each of the last five years is:

Amount (£)

2003-04

44,700

2004-05

13,000

2005-06

13,800

2006-07

12,200

2007-08

30,500

Note: Please note, for consistency, figures are rounded up to the nearest £100).

Olympic Games: Finance

Hugh Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2008, Official Report, column 259W, on the Olympic Games: finance, how much of the £290 million has been allocated to each home country sports council; how much money has been committed by Sport England to date; and to what. [239390]

Mr. Sutcliffe:
The Home Country Sports Councils contribution of £290 million to the overall Olympic budget is from their existing National Lottery resources. It is for the Home Country Sports Councils to determine how this money is spent on support for elite athletes and coaches, facilities for elite and community use, and community sport programmes.

The total committed expenditure by Sport England as at the end of October 2008 is set out in the table.

£ million

Elite

17.5

Facilities

12.8

Community

151.1

Total

181.4

26 Nov 2008 : Column 2194W

Plain English

Mr. Scott:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by his Department on Plain English Campaign training courses for its staff in each year since 2005. [230610]

Mr. Sutcliffe:
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has spent £0 on training courses titled Plain English Campaign training for its staff for each financial year 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08.

However, its staff have attended training events that include Plain English communication guidance within the content of other training events. Namely Effective Writing and Communication events and "Effective Speech Writing". The total cost of this training for financial years since 2005 are as follows: